The seven stars most likely to follow Rodri, Messi & co in completing football | OneFootball

Rodri has become the 11th player to do the World Cup, Champions League & Ballon d’Or treble – but who’s next?

With Spain’s World Cup triumph, the Manchester City midfielder completed the set, having won the Champions League in 2023 and Ballon d’Or in 2024.

Rodri joins an prestigious list. The 10 players who achieved all three: Sir Bobby Charlton, Gerd Muller, Franz Beckenbauer, Paolo Rossi, Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele.

Who will be next to make it a dozen?

We’ve taken a guess at which current stars could follow in those illustrious footsteps, listing them entirely subjectively in order of likelihood…

Lamine Yamal

Like the second player on this list, Yamal won the World Cup as a teenager. And we would be stunned if the Barca star reaches Mbappe’s age without adding the two other honours he needs.

He could bag the Ballon d’Or before his 20s since he is currently second among the favourites. If not in 2026, it is surely a matter of time.

And Barcelona are certainly due an assault on the Champions League. Having won the last two La Liga titles, Hansi Flick must be eyeing continental success, which would be Barca’s first since 2015. If they are successful, Yamal will be a major factor.

Kylian Mbappe

The Real Madrid star is a third of the way there having won the World Cup as a 19-year-old. That he has neither a Ballon d’Or or a Champions League winner’s medal in the eight years since would have seemed almost unfathomable in 2018.

But Mbappe still has time to bag the individual prize – the closest he has got so far is third in 2023 – in the post-Messi and Ronaldo era, and he’s at the Champions League’s most storied club. Even if his old one has won it in the two seasons since he left.

Jude Bellingham

England’s great hope has a Champions League winner’s medal to get him going, and plenty of time in front of him to make his Ballon d’Or claim. Like Mbappe, Bellingham has a third-placed finish, which he will surely surpass in the seasons ahead.

The biggest question mark over Bellingham’s quest for the treble must be the World Cup. But if England end 64 years of hurt in 2030, when the Real star will be turning 27, you would expect him to be one of the primary factors in any Three Lions triumph.

We can only hope England and Thomas Tuchel haven’t blown Bellingham’s best chance.

Michael Olise

Right now, Olise possesses as many of the necessary honours as Tony Hibbert. But that will surely change in the next four years.

The Bayern Munich star will be in Ballon d’Or conversations in the coming seasons, especially if he gets the move he seems to want to Real Madrid.

Regardless of whether he winds up at the Bernabeu, Olise’s Champions League prospects are already strong at Bayern Munich. And he will surely again be one of the figureheads of France’s 2030 World Cup campaign.

Vitinha

The PSG star has snaffled a couple of Champions League winner’s medals and as one of the very best midfielders in world football, Vitinha is already catching eyes as a potential Ballon d’Or winner having finished third in 2025.

That would leave the 26-year-old in need of a World Cup. Perhaps Portugal will be better placed in 2030 with Cristiano Ronaldo no longer burdening them. He wont be, will he?

Julian Alvarez

The Argentina star is just short of a Ballon d’Or, having bagged the World Cup in 2022 and the Champions League in 2023.

This summer could determine his prospects of winning the lot. There is battle raging for Alvarez’s signature, with Barca jostling with Arsenal.

Should he join either club – realistically, Barca is a better platform for to make a Ballon d’Or push – and fire them to Champions League glory, the 26-year-old would make a compelling case for the individual prize.

Vinicius Junior

Vini Jr reckons he should be two-thirds of the way there, having won the Champions League twice, the second triumph coming in 2024 when Real Madrid made an almighty stink because the winger was pipped to the Ballon d’Or by Rodri. Dignity, lads.

Winning the Ballon d’Or then would still leave Vini Jr short of a World Cup and Brazil’s prospects hardly look as strong as they traditionally do.

He’ll be 30 by the time of the next World Cup final and, given the competition, we doubt he’s got it in him to go one better in the Ballon d’Or. But we’re not certain of that enough to write off the prospect completely.